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924frankt
We stayed in San Juan for four days and decided to spend one day (February 21) birding. We placed ourselves in Gabriel's hands and he gave us the excursion of a lifetime. He picked us up shortly after 7:00 am at our hotel in his very comfortable and new vehicle, then headed west. We made numerous stops along the coast, in the mountains, in marshes, grassland, and forests. Even without the birding it would have been an enjoyable excursion to enjoy the beautiful natural sites of Puerto Rico. But the birding was in a word, awesome. Gabriel had a very organized itinerary in mind with specific birds to look for at each stop. We are amateurs but with his extraordinary vision and hearing he was able to immediately pick out the birds and point them out to us. Even though many of the birds were well hidden and moving from tree to tree, he patiently tracked their movements and ensured we got a good spotting, using our own binoculars and occasionally his scope, so that we felt like we "owned" each bird. Though we had some tropical rain during the day, our birding was not set back as he arranged to be driving during the brief rain interruptions and resumed our birding when the skies cleared. In one full day he showed us 62 magnificent species, 7 endemic. Our day began with a memorable spotting of the endemic Puerto Rican Lizard-Cuckoo, which, incredibly, we observed in the act of sharing a lizard with his mate. The day ended with a rare spotting of the Mangrove Cuckoo. Gabriel was a pleasant guide and driver, sharing interesting stories with us of his annual visits to the Magee Marsh Biggest Week birding festival as a representative of Wildside Nature Tours. He also conveniently kept a list of every bird siting which he posted to eBird, from where we could easily reconstruct our day's adventure. He returned us to our hotel after our full day, exhausted and thoroughly satisfied with our expedition. We would highly recommend Gabriel to anybody visiting Puerto Rico who is interested in birding.
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Bluesbird
My husband and I arranged a 4-day private birding excursion with Gabriel and we were delighted with the entire experience. Gabriel is a wonderful guide with amazing birding skills and he certainly knows where the birds are. He brought us to lovely nature preserves, many of which we read about in guidebooks however, without a good guide we would have wasted lots of time getting lost trying to find most of those places. Gabriel also took us to several of his own special stops that we would never even have known about. Gabriel worked very hard and because of his experience, skills and his determination to please his clients, he was able to deliver all the Puerto Rican endemics as well as many other Caribbean species that were new to our life lists. He arranged great lodging and when it was time for lunch, we really enjoyed the food at the local restaurants Gabriel selected. Besides being an exceptionally competent birder, guide and driver, he is also very pleasant company. We felt at ease with Gabriel as soon as we met him and we enjoyed many interesting conversations when we were not actively birding. We have been on group tours before but this was the first time we hired a private guide. It was such a positive experience I’m afraid Gabriel has set the bar very high for any other guide we may hire in the future. Highly recommended.
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johngQ6316IP
I am sorry that has happened this way. Reply dozens of emails and have forgotten some, it is very likely. Please accept my sincere apologies for any inconvenience caused.
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BirdieMe
An afternoon, to be exact. We were on a cruise and wanted to spend our time on the island spotting some new species. Due to our time constraint, we hired Gabriel. He met us outside the cruise ship terminal and drove us around the island to help us spot some new birds. Gabriel was a professional- courteous, a good driver, and clearly understood our time constraint. We were fortunate that the birds were cooperative that day as well! We had emailed Gabriel a list of birds that we hoped to see, which helped him plan the day accordingly. Gabriel's fee was reasonable, and we experienced a safe and enjoyable visit. I own a nature shop and I am also a travel agent. I would (and do) recommend Gabriel for even a half a day.
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eshellybell
Four of us booked with Gabriel Lugo for 5 days birding in Puerto Rico. We were NOT disappointed -- Gabriel gave us 5 great days, locating all the endemics and a total of 110 seen and 2 heard. Not bad considering most of our North American migrants had already left. Gabriel had a perfect vehicle, reserved great overnight accomodations and took us to interesting places to eat. Gabriel tailored the trip to the needs of the group (slow enough for the 85 year old with us) but efficient enough to get us an impressive list. Personable, efficient, safe driver, knowledgable. Book Gabriel Lugo well in advance because he will increasingly be in demand.
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Terryjphillips
Gabriel Lugo is an amazing birding guide who kept us busy for the entire journey from North to South and East to West and points in between. He is a very patient and attentive guide and was proud and eager to show us as many new birds as possible. We saw 16 of the 17 endemics and 110 bird species in all. We got to see an American Flamingo on one of our many stops. Also seeing the male Puerto Rican Screech Owl and his mate making new little screech owls was amazing, a first for Gabriel as well. We enjoyed our hideaway respite at TJ Ranch high in the mountains of P.R. and were treated to delicious dinners each night equal to any fine restaurant in the city. All in all, it was a wonderful experience for both Stephen, a novice bird watcher and myself, Terry, who has been enjoying birds for nearly 44 years. Highly recommend!
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jungbird
My wife and I spent three days with Gabriel and had a great time! We saw or head 99 species, including all of the Puerto Rican endemics. He was very efficient at locating the endemics and several other rare birds, including two American White Pelicans. Also, he helped find some birds that I have been trying to see in the West Indies for quite awhile.He made all of the hotel arraignments and knew were we could get good local food. Great guide and would use him again.
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Skysurfer28
I can confidently say that Gabriel is the best birder on the whole island of Puerto Rico. His skills and expertise are superior. I did his pre-made itinerary for 4-5 days targeting all the endemics and Caribbean specialties of the island. Well, not only did we see all 17 endemics, we saw almost every Caribbean specialty as well. I've birded Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago extensively before, but still walked away with 38 life birds. Gabriel can recognize even vague chip notes of the residential and migratory birds and pinpoints their position with great accuracy. His eagle eyes can spot even distant eye-shines of a hidden Puerto Rican Nightjar in the trees. If I were alone I wouldn't have seen a fraction of the birds we saw together. And I am a pretty good birder who has birded 6 continents and nearing 2,000 on my list. We both even got one of the most thrilling lifers I could image- Black Rail! Very exciting for me since I have tried for this bird for years and years with no success. Gabriel picks great places to stay. Try to stay as many nights as possible at TJ Ranch. It was incredible, with incredible food. And Puerto Rican Screech Owls on the grounds. :) If you think he is expensive, it is for a reason. He is a world-class birder that is seriously determined to get you every bird on your list. He is nice and good company too.
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905LM
We only had a short stay on Puerto Rico while traveling via cruise ship but Gabriel accommodated our time frame. He knows exactly where the birds are and as a result we saw many endemics and plenty of other birds in a short birding day. I thought his price was reasonable. I would most definitely recommend him as a birding guide and would use him again in the future.
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StanleyJ814
We went on a five night all inclusive bird watching trip to Puerto Rico (8-12 Nov 2012). Our guide was Gabriel Lugo. Our objective was to see the 17 Puerto Rican endemics and if time allowed to see some of the Caribbean endemics that we had not seen before and even see some of the introduced species. Within the first three days we had seen 16 of the 17 endemics and had heard the one that got away twice, very close. We were successful at seeing all of the Caribbean endemics that we had requested to see and a number of the introduced species. Gabriel was a professional bird guide in every sense. He knows the birds of Puerto Rico with the utmost expertise. He has great visual and auditory skills and like any great guide he has fabulous people skills. Gabriel's knowledge of local cuisine was first rate. We had a great birding experience and found Gabriel to be a great birding companion and guide. Thank you!!!!Cheers!Stanley & Gretchen Jones
